Internet the way to win votes, says veteran journalist

The way to win the hearts and minds of voters is to use new media, said veteran journalist Datuk A. Kadir Jasin.

This was because new media, or social media, had its legion of followers, he said.

"Political parties who want their message to reach the young generation have to use new media because the youth today rarely follow mainstream media," he said at a Breakfast Talk with Universiti Teknologi Mara students yesterday.

In 2008, he said the ruling government had rejected new media while the opposition had embraced it.

However, since then, Barisan Nasional had gained an awareness of the effectiveness of new media and was learning to use the medium to convey its messages.

"Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had realised that a 100 per cent reliance on mainstream media was not effective.

"He has not only adopted the new medium but, in a way, pioneered the use of new media among BN members," he said after the talk.

However, despite the popularity of new media, Kadir said mainstream media was still relevant.

The challenge for mainstream media today was whether it would reinvent itself and expand to reach a wider audience besides pro-government readers, he said.

Read more: Internet the way to win votes, says veteran journalist - Politics - New Straits Times